MSM: methyl-sulfonyl-methane: Part 1
The most important part of the strategy to eliminate cravings for nicotine and/or other substances is to bring the body's biochemistry into the best working order possible.
Proper nutrition is the foundation of health. To supply the needs of the organism, we have to consume the required amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, as well as certain natural substances, which our predecessors were consuming by the virtue of the fact that they lived on land and they lived natural lives.
But we can still get those substances even in our day and age, even though most of it would have to come in the form of commercially available supplements.
MSM, or methyl-sulfonyl-methane is one of such substances.
This new product of alternative medicine, is by now well-known, it gains more and more acceptance among those who care about their health.
MSM is effective against many ailments. It can ease pain which accompanies inflammation, it can ease arthritis, allergy, asthma, nonspecific malaise, it improves functioning of stomach and intestinal tract, as well as of other organs, it can help against skin diseases, bladder inflammation, urinary tract inflammation, emphysema, bursitis, tendonitis, tennis elbow, lower back pain, overuse injuries, athletic injuries.
So what is this wonder-drug?
It is an acronym of methyl-sulfonyl-methane. It is a sulfur compound which is present in all living organisms, from plants to animals.
Strictly speaking, MSM is not a drug, it is a natural product, which is present in our bodies and which takes part in metabolic processes.
However, it has a very pronounced healing qualities when taken as a supplement.
Our bodies contain several types of sulfur compounds, but most of it is in the form of MSM.
Sulfur is an important element for all living organisms.
It is the fourth most abundant substance in our body.
It is present in aminoacids, proteins, in connective tissues, from which skin, nails, hair, as well as some tissues in joints are formed.
Some vitamins also contain sulfur, like thiamin (vitamin B1), biotin (vitamin B7).
Vitamin B1 is essential for metabolism of carbohydrates. It is also required for erythropoesis (development of blood cells).
It improves the tone of heart muscle and also of the smooth intestinal muscle, thus improving both circulation and digestion.
People who consume considerable quantities of concentrated sugar products and fats may develop deficiency of vitamin B1, just as people who consume alcohol.
Deficiency of this vitamin produces an entire host of symptoms- fatigue, weight loss, intestinal disorders, depression of immune system, numbness in extremities, enlarged liver, weight loss, wasting of muscle tissue, especially in limbs.
Prolonged deficiency can cause beriberi, a disease of peripheral nerves, which in severe forms can lead to paralysis, heart failure, brain damage.
Biotin, or vitamin B7, is important for metabolism of proteins, fats and glucose.
Deficiency of it can cause high blood sugar. It is essential for maintaining tissues of the body, including skin, nerves, bone marrow, hair.
Sulfur is also required to produce bile, which is essential for emulsification of fats in the gastro-intestinal tract.
Sulfur is an important element for insulin production, and thus it plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism.
Sulfur is a crucial element in connective tissues of the body.
Keratin, a reinforcing protein, that gives strength to skin and other tissues cannot be produced without sulfur.
Sulfur is also necessary for making collagen, an important constituent of cartilage and connective tissues.
Approximately half of the total body sulfur is concentrated in the muscles, skin and bones.
Every organ consists of various tissues. Those tissues which perform physiological function of every organ are called "parenchymal".
To hold them together, body uses connective tissues, which act like a flexible frame.
Connective tissues consist mainly of collagen and elastin.
MSM improves tone of skin, mainly by providing nutritional support to these major components of connective tissue.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, it consists of tough criss-crossing fibers.
Collagen fibers are interspersed with elastin. This way our connective tissue "frame" is both resilient and flexible.
When the diet lacks sufficient amounts of sulfur, our body does not have the main building material to maintain collagen in tissues.
Prolonged sulfur deficiency may profoundly change appearance of skin, making it look dry, wrinkled and wasted.
Wrinkles are a visible sign of age.
It is little surprise that people go at great lengths to get rid of them.
Collagen injections are advertised as an effective remedy to improve skin appearance.
In reality it is a very expensive and utterly useless procedure, as most of that collagen gets broken down by the body enzymes in a year or two.
It cannot be incorporated into the body's own collagen "fabric".
A much cheaper and effective procedure is to supply your body with all the nutrients it needs to maintain its own collagen fabric.
One of those nutrients is sulfur.
Sulfur is also a part of cell walls. Since cells absorb nutrients and excrete waste through their walls, physiological integrity of cell walls is very important for the health of cells.
It is not just the "structural" characteristics of tissues that are impaired when dietary sulfur is deficient, it is their biological function, as well.
If cells are healthy, they can exrete waste products more effectively. This means wastes do not accumulate and the cells live much longer.
When our cells can exrete wastes more efficiently, we are less prone to allergies, as the foreign substances are flushed out much faster.
That is why MSM provides an effective allergy relief.
A conventional way of treating allergies is by taking antihistamines.
Histamine is a mediator of inflammatory response, if you inhibit its release, you obtain some relief.
But antihistamines have side effects, whereas MSM has none.
MSM gives equally good results for different types of allergens - environmental, like dust, pollen, wool, animal hair; as well as food and drug allergens.
All those allergies can be reduced or even eliminated completely with a daily dose of MSM as little as 50 mg!
Localized inflammations also respond well to MSM. But what is even more interesting, MSM helps against more serious inflammatory diseases, such as lupus!
Sulfur is an important "raw material" to create new cells of the body.
Optimal health can only be maintained if the process of making new cells can continue without interruption.
Without proper nutrition the body cannot have enough "building materials" to maintain its structures and other tissues, to repair tissues.
It would still continue trying to build new cells, but those may well be defective.
With years, tissues, containing large numbers of defective cells are no longer able to perform their biological function, at least not effectively.
Healing qualities of sulfur springs have been known since times immemorial.
They help against many ailments, in particular against arthritis and rheumatism.
You can bathe in them or you can drink them.
And even though there are other sulfur compounds, which can be taken as a supplement, MSM has definite advantages.
Its taste, even though not particularly pleasant, is quite tolerable.
Being a natural compound, that is found in body tissues, MSM has no side effects.
It causes no toxic effects even when taken in large amounts.
You can often hear that "toxicity of MSM is like that of water".
It is very difficult to overdose on MSM. Excess of it is easily taken out by excretory system.
There is a sulfur compound that is chemically close to MSM, it is called DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) and it is available in many countries as a drug.
Like MSM, it also helps against a wide range of ailments. But it has a very unpleasant taste and odor, and on top of that it can cause allergic reactions.
It can hardly be a suitable choice for a dietary supplement.
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